


Barbie of Silver Linings

by noodledream



Category: Barbie of Swan Lake (2003)
Genre: Explicitly filling in gaps in canon, Gen, In Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 12:36:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20600885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noodledream/pseuds/noodledream
Summary: Social anxiety has always limited Odette. Now, to top it all off, she's cursed! From her misery, can she find any hidden blessings?





	Barbie of Silver Linings

**Author's Note:**

> No beta.  
I might expand this into a Odette/Odile story... Any interest?  
[UPDATE] Apparently, Odette's sister is named Marie! Thanks ColorlessPalatte :)

Odette’s fat, wet tears drown in the water of the lake. She must be the first bird ever to cry. Ugly, tearing sobs. Birds have the machinery; they have tear ducts to keep their eyes clean. But only humans grieve. Odette brings to this new, unfamiliar swan body her uniquely human ability to feel anguish, anxiety... loss. And oh, how she feels it now. Heaves with it. More sobs rip from her throat.

She cycles through the stages of grief so haphazardly, it gives her whiplash. Breathless with sudden anger, she screams out in rage.

“And to think you were actually on your way _ out _ of the Enchanted Forest. I’d be mad too.”

Odette hadn’t noticed Lila’s approaching, but when she sullenly turns her head, the butch unicorn is standing a wingspan away on the water’s edge. 

“Just proves how stupid Bird Brain is. If he’d just let you leave, he would have nothing to worry about!” Lila exclaims.

The anger fades as quickly as it emerged. Back to depression. (The tears had never stopped flowing.)

“But the truth of the matter is that he didn’t let me leave,” Odette manages between sniffles. “Now I’m cursed to be a swan from dusk to dawn… _ forever _. What kind of life can I have now? Will I ever see my father or my sister again?”

Lila considers this. “Well, you’ll have to figure out something to tell them, but you can see your family during the day.” 

Odette blinks. Her vision clears a fraction and she feels deeply moved by Lila’s attempts to help her. It dawns on her that, although she has met with grave misfortune during her short time in the Enchanted Forest, she has also never made so many amazing friends before.

“You’re right, Lila. I’m sure that everything will be alright once I’ve adjusted to my new life. I just need some time to grieve all I’ve lost,” Odette explains.

“That’s the spirit!” Lila eagerly responds. She prances around in a happy circle. “And I bet there are some perks to being a swan, too! I so wish that I could fly.”

Odette grins. Without missing a beat, she spreads her wings and catapults out of the water. Lila whoops while Odette rises toward the tree line. Then, her wings still, and she’s soaring. Nothing compares. Odette feels true exhilaration. She has never liked stepping out of her comfort zone, never accepting her sister’s invitations to town dances or horseback rides. She clings to her safe life and doesn’t let go. But now that she’s gliding past the treetops and into the cotton candy clouds, with nothing but the open air, Odette can’t help but forget the life that’s familiar and safe. Up here, there is only the moon and possibility. Now that she’s tasted true freedom, she can’t imagine ever being grounded again!

Her grief forgotten, Odette circles back down toward Lila.

“How does it feel?” Lila asks wistfully.

“As if--for the first time--I’m really alive.”

\---

Just like she’d suspected, everything starts looking up about a week after she followed Lila past the waterfall because Odette has been able to build a routine of enjoying village life during the day and the Enchanted Forest at night. One afternoon, her sister is shocked when Odette suggests that they take a horseback ride through the countryside.

“I don’t know what’s made you change your mind about getting out more, but I love it!” exclaims Marie excitedly. Her horse trots a few paces behind Odette. Marie had been surprised but pleased when her sister insisted she take the lead.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Odette laughs. Turning around slightly in her saddle, she asks, “Would you believe me if I told you that making friends with a talking unicorn did the trick?”

“What? You’re ridiculous,” Marie says good-naturedly. “Also, where are we going?”

It had been a hard ride through rough terrain so far. Marie notices that they are going deeper and deeper into the forest away from the safety of the village. 

Odette sends Marie a mysterious smile. “We’re here, actually,” she says, and confidently leads the way several steps more into a clearing.

“Woah,” Marie breathes when the majestic waterfall comes into view. “It’s beautiful. Like something out of a fairytale. How did you find this place?”

“I wasn’t joking earlier. I followed a unicorn here. I have something to show you. Please keep an open mind.”

Marie looks at her sister with skepticism but dismounts and follows her across the log. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister?” she laughs breathlessly when they are halfway across the “bridge.” Marie continues, “I never would’ve pegged you for the type to walk on a log suspended over what is most certainly a fatal drop into a deep chasm, and _ in heels _ no less. Odette, you’re _ badass _!”

Once the sisters make it safely to the other side and Odette presses the waterfall to open the way into the Enchanted Forest, she shoots a smug smile at Marie. “Just you wait. I’m full of surprises.”


End file.
